Parasomnia Kleptomania
by LaylaBinx
Summary: It turns out, on top of everything else, Ezekiel Jones sleepwalks. And sleep-steals.


**Hello friends! This is my first venture in the world of The Librarians so please don't be too harsh! This is just a fun little idea I've had bumping around in my head for a couple weeks so I thought I'd get around to writing it. Hope you all like it!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing =/**

* * *

The first time it happens, Eve thinks it's a joke. It's late, well after 2:30 in the morning, and she's elbow deep in the unofficial handbook of all things Library and Annex related that Flynn had thrown together for her the last time he was there long enough to do so. It's more of a tome than a book, a hulking mass of pages upon pages of information relating to every mystical and magical artifact the Library contained. Well, that's not exactly true; Flynn had told her this was only Book 1 and that he would assemble another one for her the next time he returned. Eve wasn't sure how many books would be included in this series and she wasn't sure she wanted to find out. Still, it was definitely more helpful than the guess-and-hope-for-the-best game they'd been playing in the beginning.

She's just moved into the section over Barrow Women and Banshees when she hears it. There's a soft shuffling sound coming from down the hall, bare feet padding against solid tile. Eve frowns and puts down the book, leaning her chair back just far enough so she can see down the hall. She doesn't see anything at first, nothing but the long shadows and dim reflections off the walls. Her pistol is on the table but she doesn't reach for it; she instinctively knows that whatever it is is not a threat which is weird because there are literally thousands of threatening things tucked away inside the halls of the Annex.

Several long, silent seconds pass and nothing happens. Whatever was making the sound has stopped or moved on to a different part of the Annex. She waits for a second or so more before standing slowly and grabbing the coffee mug that had been sitting next to her gun on the table. She's been meaning to re-warm the cup for the past half hour anyway, might as well investigate the noise while she's up.

She walks down the hall quietly, her footsteps all but silent as her socks slip across the cold tiles. The hallway is dark, illuminated only by a small, flickering lamp on the wall, but it provides more than enough light for her to see where she's going. The end of the hall opens up to an atrium which leads to a small kitchen and dining area, one of the few places in the Annex that is not stacked and cluttered with books and other artifacts, an accomplishment which was no easy task in itself.

It had taken a lot of work to convince Jenkins that a sarcophagus from an Egyptian tomb was not appropriate for a coffee table and he eventually resigned to move it back into the front office where it belonged. When he'd been here alone, Jenkins had had the freedom to put magical objects anywhere he deemed suitable if they didn't have a designated place in the Annex. Now that there were three rookie Librarians and their Guardian living in the Annex with him, the previously available space became much harder to allocate.

It had been a difficult persuasion, one that took every ounce of Eve's patience and negotiation tactics, but eventually Jenkins gave up arguing and simply moved the sarcophagus into another room. It was challenging in a place like the Annex but Eve had made a rule early on that there should be at least one room in the building that was magic and mayhem free and the kitchen had seemed like the most logical location.

She comes around the corner and stops instantly, fingers tightening on the handle of the coffee cup instinctively. There's someone standing in the kitchen. For a brief moment, she contemplates turning around and going back to retrieve her gun from the table (while simultaneously questioning why she hadn't grabbed it in the first place) but dismisses the idea almost as soon as it comes. Whoever was standing in the kitchen certainly would have heard her coming by now and if she turned there was a good chance they would either a) attack her or b) disappear further into the depths of the Annex while she was retrieving her gun. Options limited, she resigned herself to face whoever it was armed with nothing but a coffee cup and her bare hands.

She steps back around the corner, her eyes landing on the shadowed silhouette standing in front of the sink. The details are hard to make out in the dark but she can tell that the person is male with messy dark hair and a slight build. The tension in her shoulders lessens just slightly as she steps forward into the kitchen, her eyes still trained on the figure. The posture is familiar, as are the rumpled clothes and the bare feet. Eve feels an equal mixture of relief and annoyance wash over her as recognition kicks in.

"Jones, what the hell are you doing?" she asks with a sigh, setting her coffee mug on the countertop with a soft clunk. "Do you have any idea what time it is? What are you doing up at this hour?"

The younger man doesn't answer, which is unusual, and he doesn't react to Eve's questions, which is more unusual. Eve's gotten used to the various sassy and sarcastic quips the thief typically responds with but this time he doesn't say or do anything. He just stands there with his back to her, staring at the wall above the sink like he's trying to see something that isn't there.

Eve frowns and takes a step forward. "Jones?"

Once again she receives no answer but Ezekiel does move this time, reaching out to open the cabinet beside the sink and take out a bowl. He sets it on the counter awkwardly, his movements heavy and uncoordinated. He lifts the bowl again and moves toward the sink like he's going to fill it up with water but then changes his mind and tucks it under his arm instead.

Eve frowns again and steps closer. "Jones, seriously, what the hell are you doing?"

Once again, Ezekiel doesn't answer but he does turns to face her. His expression is dull and blank, eyes a bit glassy and unfocused, and he's more looking in her direction rather than actually looking at her. He stares at her blankly for a few more seconds, not moving other than to clutch the bowl a little more tightly under his arm like he's worried she'd going to take it away.

There's a second of realization and Eve resists the urge to facepalm harder than she's ever done in her life. "Oh my God, are you kidding me? You sleepwalk?"

She receives no answer as Ezekiel continues to fix her with a blank stare.

Eve just sighs heavily and shakes her head. "Of all the people to have a problem with sleepwalking…" she mutters, passing a hand over her eyes which suddenly feel very heavy.

"Alright, Jones, time to go back to-" she begins but stops when she opens her eyes again and realizes Ezekiel is no longer standing in front of her.

Rather, he's shuffling past her toward the hallway, the bowl still tucked under his arm. He stops by the counter closest to the door and grabs Eve's coffee cup on the way out, spilling the contents on the floor as he tucks the cup under his arm as well.

"Jones! What the-?!" Eve hisses as she follows him out of the kitchen, stepping over the puddle of cold coffee on the floor. Ezekiel doesn't hear her nor does he stop, he just keeps walking down the hall to his designated room. Baffled by the events, Eve follows him to his doorway, watching silently as he turns the corner and disappears into the darkened room.

She watches as he stumbles over to a bookshelf against the wall and carefully places both the empty bowl and coffee cup on the nearest clean shelf. Then, mission accomplished, he turns and collapses onto the mattress, dead asleep and completely oblivious to everything that just happened.

Eve stands still and silent for several seconds, watching the sleeping form of the younger man. His breathing is deep and even, his body is relaxed and sprawled bonelessly across the mattress. Once she's satisfied that he's not about to get up and go for another late night stroll, Eve creeps into his room and retrieves the bowl and the coffee cup from the bookshelf. Ezekiel mumbles something incoherently in his sleep but doesn't move to stop her. As quietly as she'd come in, Eve turns and walks out of the room, closing the door behind her.

She steps over the puddle of coffee once again as she walks into the kitchen, depositing the empty mug into the sink and putting the bowl back in the cabinet. She finds a towel and mops up the spilled coffee, dropping the damp cloth into the sink as well. Satisfied with the cleanup, she turns and walks down the hall to her own room, making a mental note to look up sleepwalking in the morning.

 **OOOOO**

The second time it happens, Jenkins nearly has a heart attack. Not because he catches Ezekiel sleepwalking (working in the Annex exposes him to stranger and much more disturbing things than a rookie Librarian stumbling around through the archives in the dead of night). No, he nearly has a heart attack because he catches Ezekiel sleep-walking away with a ridiculously powerful and dangerous artifact that has the power to destroy the entire Annex if it's not handled properly.

He'd been in the middle of re-shelving an armful of books the Librarians and their Guardian had been pouring over for their last mission when he catches movement from the corner of his eye. It's nothing startling or extreme, just a flicker of movement and the instinctual knowledge of not being alone anymore. Jenkins looks down the row of bookshelves to see a shadow pass by across the wall. He sighs, stepping down off the ladder and setting the remaining books on the shelf beside him.

"If you're going to spend your time stumbling around the archive, you can at least come help me put these books away," Jenkins says loudly enough for whoever is nearby to hear it. When he doesn't receive an answer, he steps out of the row of bookshelves and comes face-to-face with Ezekiel. The younger man looks disheveled, hair mussed and still dressed in a faded t-shirt and a pair of sleep pants.

Their last assignment had been tough, one that kept them alert and on edge for the better part of a week. They'd been successful in the end but they had all been physically and mentally exhausted by the time the got back to the Annex. Jenkins hadn't been surprised when they all turned in early that night, all but dragging themselves to their respective rooms. He was surprised that Ezekiel was awake now though; he hadn't expected to see the other Librarians up and functional for at least another eight hours.

"You should be asleep, Mr. Jones," Jenkins informs him quietly, dusting his hands off on his pants. "Not wandering around these bookshelves in the middle of the night."

Ezekiel doesn't respond, his expression blank and posture equal parts slouched and relaxed. He's not looking at Jenkins or much of anything for that matter, his gaze is locked onto something far off in the distance at the end of the hall. He's awake but it appears his level of actual consciousness is miles away. For a very brief moment, Jenkins considers the possibility that he's in some kind of a trance but dismisses it when he comes to the more logical conclusion of sleepwalking.

"Ah, yes, your Guardian mentioned something of this nature happening the other day," Jenkins mutters, more to himself than to Ezekiel because he's pretty sure the younger man can't hear him right now anyway. "I swear, the eccentricities increase with every new candidate."

He steps forward and places a hand on Ezekiel shoulder, intending to direct him back to his room and get him out of the archives so Jenkins can re-shelf the books in peace and quiet. It's only then that Jenkins realizes Ezekiel is holding something in his left hand.

It's a small object, roughly jar-shaped about the size of a large water bottle. It's made out of clay with small, faded pictographs and paintings adorning the sides. The jar has a lid which has been taped and strapped shut but it appears loose like the lid could still come off at any moment. A lid that Ezekiel's hand is dangerously close to.

Jenkins freezes momentarily when he realizes exactly what it is that Ezekiel is holding. He has no idea how he got it or how he even found it (that object had been tucked away in a very secure and very hidden section of the Annex, or so he thought) but it was dangerous and, in untrained hands, very deadly.

"Ezekiel," Jenkins says, keeping his voice as even as possible while keeping his eyes fixed on the jar in the younger man's hand. "I need you to hand me that jar."

Ezekiel doesn't answer, his eyes still blank and staring forward. His grip on the jar is tight enough to prevent it from falling to the ground but not tight enough to provide Jenkins with a sense of reassurance. He could try to grab it from Ezekiel but then he would run the risk of dropping it or accidentally removing the lid. If the lid were to come off or if the jar were to fall and break…

"Ezekiel," Jenkins says a bit louder this time, hoping to rouse the thief back to consciousness enough to get through to him. It doesn't work and he curses softly. "Give me the jar. Right now."

The rookie Librarian stares at him for a second to two more before finally giving up possession of the jar and handing it to Jenkins. The older man takes the jar like it's a live grenade (which, in a way, it kind of is) and sets it on the nearest bookshelf with extraordinary care.

Once he's sure it's secure, he turns back to Ezekiel and catches his by the shoulder again, ushering him out of archives and back into the Annex toward his room. Ezekiel stumbles along wordlessly the whole time, allowing himself to be more or less dragged back to his respective room. It's only when he's literally standing right outside the door of his own room that Jenkins releases him.

"Bed. Now," Jenkins orders shortly, somewhat surprised when Ezekiel obeys and walks back into his room without a remark. It comes out as harsh but at the moment he doesn't care. His hands are still a bit shaky from the encounter and he'd be lying if he said his palms weren't sweating from simply coming in contact with that jar. He takes a second to compose himself, taking long, deep breaths and letting them out slowly, before making his way back to the archives.

The jar is still sitting on the bookshelf when he comes back, appearing as harmless and innocuous as something that would be displayed in a museum. The innocent exterior belies the danger inside, though; a clever ruse that has fooled more than a few curious onlookers into taking a peek inside. The jar had been around for centuries, witness to the rise and fall of empires and likely the _cause_ of the rise and fall of empires. It's name was infamous around the world, not for its destructive power but because of its first owner: Pandora.

Contrary to popular mythology, not only was Pandora's Box not actually a box (it was a simple clay jar) but it also didn't release all the evil into the world in one event. The jar had the power to conserve and produce malice and hate, acting as a reservoir for all the misery and suffering of the world. Each time it was opened, all of the excess malevolence would pour out, causing wars, famines, plagues, and everything else that could bring humanity to its knees. And, each time it was opened, it would slowly begin to refill itself until it was brimming with every kind of hatred and evil the world could produce.

The last time it had been opened was over 75 years ago in Germany in 1939 at the onset of World War II. 75 years worth of murder and chaos, disease and despair, just waiting to be unleashed. And Ezekiel Jones had been sleepwalking with it.  
Jenkins picks the jar up carefully and walks to the back corner of the archives. In a building full of powerful artifacts, it was sometimes hard to determine which objects needed to be put away permanently and which ones were safe enough to be left out. Pandora's jar definitely fell into the former category and Jenkins realizes (rather belatedly) that he should have put the jar in such a location in the first place.

He thought it had been hidden well enough the first time since he was the only one who knew its location but since Ezekiel had found it (while completely asleep nonetheless!), he realizes more extreme measures must be taken.

He comes to a stop in front of a blank wall and presses his hand firmly against the surface. A panel shifts and slides back to reveal the metal door to a vault hidden in the wall. Jenkins had never been much for modern technology but this certainly came in handy. The vault was triple locked from the inside and lined with layers upon layers of containment spells and incantations. It wasn't very big but it had the ability to completely suppress the magical properties of any object placed inside. There were only two other objects Jenkins had ever deemed dangerous enough to warrant the vault: a monkey's paw that had systematically killed every person who came in contact with it and the skeletal remains of the hand of the mythical cannibal Sawney Bean, an object which had the uncanny ability to turn anyone who touched it into a violent serial killer. Pandora's jar would be the newest and hopefully last (at least for a little while) artifact to be interred in the vault. Jenkins sincerely hoped that would be enough.

He places the jar inside the vault carefully and seals the door again, typing in the passcode and scanning his thumb as the final piece of authorization. The panel slides closed once he's through, blending in with the wall seamlessly like it was never there at all.

Satisfied, Jenkins steps away and walks back to the stack of books he'd left on the shelf. He takes minute to glare up at the ceiling of the Annex like it was solely responsible for everything that had just happened. "You just had to pick a sleepwalking kleptomaniac as a candidate, didn't you? There's absolutely no way that could backfire at all."

As expected, the Annex doesn't have a response and Jenkins just shakes his head and continues re-shelving the books.

 **OOOOO**

The third time it happens, Cassandra has an idea. She overhears Eve and Jenkins discussing Ezekiel's night time activities and what they should do about them. Apparently they had tried talking to him about it but Ezekiel didn't believe them. He had dismissed it as a joke or a prank and hadn't given it a second thought. Since they couldn't exactly predict when he would sleepwalk, it became something of a guessing game as to when it would happen again and what he would try to steal the next time. It was obviously an issue, considering all the dangerous artifacts in the Library, and Cassandra steps in to offer a possible solution.

It was was a multi-part idea and while it wouldn't necessarily cure Ezekiel of his problem, it would at least help them figure out what kind of sleepwalking they were dealing with. After the incident with Pandora's Jar, Jenkins was more than happy to accept any kind of solution. She enlists Eve's help and they spend the better part of the afternoon crafting the first part of the plan. Cassandra takes care of the mathematical dimensions while Eve sees to the more detailed work. It comes as a surprise to both of them that Eve is actually a rather gifted artist. Once the project is finished, all that's left to do is lay the bait.

Cassandra finds Ezekiel sitting in the main room of the Annex, hunched over something that looks remarkably like a comic book. She clutches hers and Eve's the finished product to her chest and makes it a point to clear her throat a little when she enters the room. Ezekiel glances up from his book and watches her walk across the room.

"What's that?" he asks as Cassandra passes by his chair.

Cassandra resists the urge to smile and keeps a straight, neutral expression instead. "Oh, this?" she asks innocently, pausing by his chair and clutching the artifact a little tighter. "It's nothing. Just a painting that appeared in the book."

Ezekiel frowns, eyes darting to the painting clutched to Cassandra's chest. "Well, there's obviously something weird about. The book wouldn't send us to get it if it was just a painting."

The first part of the plan is working like a charm but Cassandra keeps her expression neutral to keep from raising suspicion. "Well, yeah, I mean I guess it's a little weird," she allows, glancing down at the painting she and Eve had crafted a few hours earlier. "Some people think it's cursed; I guess that's why it got flagged."

Ezekiel still looks a little confused by the painting. "Why didn't the assignment go to Stone? I thought he was the art guru."

Cassandra waves him off easily; she and Eve had anticipated this in advance. "The painting was made by a mathematician who used complex algorithms in his work; I guess that's why it thought I should be the one to retrieve it. It's pretty interesting actually; his style is really similar to Van Gogh but this painting is, like, ten times more valuable than anything Van Gogh ever made."

That catches his attention and Ezekiel quirks an eyebrow. "Valuable, huh?"

Cassandra nods heartily in agreement. "Extremely. Probably one of the most valuable artifacts in the Library now. But," she says, patting the canvas clutched to her chest. "That's why it's in here now and not out there. Can't run the risk of anyone else getting their hands on it, you know?"

Ezekiel stands then, his eyes still locked on the painting. "So where are you taking it now?"

"Oh, I'm not taking it anywhere," Cassandra tells him innocently with a small shrug. "I'm giving over to Jenkins for storage. Something like this, as valuable as it is, it needs to go somewhere safe."

She turns to leave before Ezekiel can say anything else but she can practically feel his eyes on her as she leaves the room. It's all going according to plan; the bait has been laid and the trap more or less set. All they have to do now is wait.

It's much later that night before the other parts of the plan finally begin to come together. As expected, Ezekiel spent a good majority of the day searching for Cassandra's "valuable-yet-cursed" painting but to no avail. He knew better than to ask where it was and simply busied himself in searching every nook and alcove of the Annex in hopes of finding it. He never did but that was also part of the plan. Cassandra reasoned that his obsession with finding it would affect his subconscious, even in his sleep, which would lead to another episode of sleepwalking. It worked like a charm.

"Tell me again what we're trying to accomplish here?" Eve asks as her watch ticks past 1:35 that morning.

"We're trying to determine what kind of parasomnia Ezekiel is experiencing," Cassandra tells her, stifling a yawn behind her hand. "If we know that, we might be able to work around it."

She explained that by watching Ezekiel sleepwalk and figuring out where he would go while doing it, they could strengthen the security in those particular areas. In some cases, sleepwalking was completely random and the person wouldn't have a clear destination in mind. In others, the subconscious had a destination and a goal in mind that would drive the sleepwalking episode. Cassandra is reasonably certain Ezekiel falls into the second category and that by observing him, she can figure out how to block his access to the more dangerous areas of the Annex when he's doing it.

"I already told you," Eve counters lightly, leaning forward to rest her chin on her folded arms. "He's sleep stealing; I don't really think the rules of regular sleepwalking apply."

"But different kinds of sleep disorders occur during different cycles of sleep," Cassandra continues, slumping back in her chair to relieve some of the pressure in her back. "Typical sleepwalking occurs during NREM sleep but the cycle it takes place in would explain Ezekiel's behavior. If it's in the 3rd stage it means Ezekiel is probably dreaming that he's stealing something which would then affect his actions in real life."

"If it's in the 4th stage," Cassandra breaks off to stifle another yawn. "Then it means he's in slow-wave sleep and doesn't even realize he's moving around, let alone stealing anything. If that's the case, his body is moving more on autopilot while his brain is completely asleep."

"And what do we do if he's in this sleep stage?" Eve asks and Cassandra turns to answer her only to be cut off by a quiet chirp from the laptop in front of her. Eve had taken the liberty of setting up a few security cameras throughout the Annex one of the first weeks they were here and had the feeds set up to notify them if any movement was detected in certain areas. Particularly the unconscious movements of a sleep-walking thief in strictly forbidden sections of the Annex.

Eve glances at the security feed on the laptop and pinpoints where Ezekiel is. "There," she says, pointing to the monitor. "He's in the East wing."

The image on the laptop is small but Ezekiel can clearly be seen slowly shambling down the hall toward one of the restricted areas. Jenkins was the only one with unlimited access to that particular area which is why it made sense for Ezekiel to start there. Ezekiel's subconscious must have realized that a highly valuable, one-of-a-kind, priceless-yet-cursed painting would need all the security it could get and what better place to search than one of the restricted areas?

"Come on," Eve says, picking up the laptop and handing it to Cassandra. She would leave Cassandra in charge of tracking Ezekiel and she would step in to handle the wayward thief if need be. She wasn't really expecting Ezekiel to become combative but she had to be ready just in case.

"Straight up ahead," Cassandra tells her, glancing at the monitor as they continued walking.

The hallway curves to the right before ending in a sharp left turn. They take the corner and come to a stop in front of an empty hallway.

Eve frowns. "Okay, to the best of my knowledge Ezekiel can't teleport so where is he?"

Cassandra glances down at the screen again and picks through the security feeds. "It looks like...ah! There he is." She looks up from the laptop and points down the opposite hallway. "We just missed him. The feed is about five seconds slower than the timestamp on the video which means we're about ten seconds behind Ezekiel."

"Lousy outdated equipment," Eve mutters as she turns in the direction of the other hallway. "Okay, so now we have to figure out how to stay ahead of him on top of trying to keep him out of the restricted areas?"

Cassandra nods and shrugs slightly. "Yep."

"Marvelous. Let's go."

The cat-and-mouse game continues for close to an hour, Eve and Cassandra chasing Ezekiel across nearly every inch of the Library and always being a few seconds too late. There's no way he should faster than them but he is. He's also remarkably good at not getting caught; even completely asleep, Ezekiel Jones is still a master of evasion.

Eve rounds the corner to another empty hallway and sighs in frustration. "Okay, this is ridiculous. How do we keep missing him?"

Cassandra stops and sets the laptop down on the nearest shelf. "There has to be some kind of pattern," she murmurs to herself, swiping her hands through the air like she's moving refrigerator magnets across an invisible medium. "If he started here," she mutters, swiping her hand in a quick, small circle. "And moved here…" Another swipe.

Eve watches her quietly and lets her work. She doesn't see the things Cassandra does, her brain doesn't work that way. So every time Cassandra begins working with the invisible models in her mind, Eve doesn't question it and allows her to work through it on her own.

Cassandra continues this for a few more seconds, muttering to herself every once in a while, before she finally turns to Eve and grins. "This way!" She brushes past Eve and makes her way down another hallway. Eve watches her go, shrugs a little and follows her.

Sure enough they find Ezekiel trudging down the hallway, the "cursed painting" tucked under one arm. Cassandra steps out of his way but follows him closely, analyzing his movements and behavior. "Okay, eyes are open but unfocused. Movements slow but deliberate; subconscious memories of a familiar location so he knows where he is. Sort of."

"Okay," Eve says, keeping her voice low as she follows Cassandra and Ezekiel into the next room. "So does that mean this is normal sleep walking or that weird 4th wave thing you were talking about?"

Cassandra watches him for a few more seconds before answering. "I'd say normal sleep walking, 3rd stage parasomnia. He was searching for the painting in his dreams; finding it and stealing it carried over into reality."

"And we stop it how?" Eve asks, watching as Ezekiel stumbles through the hallway back toward his room.

Cassandra just shrugs. "Well, unfortunately there's really no cure for sleepwalking. Mostly it's just management and prevention and-"

She stops when Ezekiel walks back by, grabs the laptop from her hands, and tucks it under his arm along with the painting. Then, both items in tow, he turns and stumbles back down the hall toward his room.

Eve smirks at Cassandra's stunned expression and watches Ezekiel's retreating form. "Management, huh? This should be fun."

 **OOOOO**

The next time it happens Jake just deals with it.

Ezekiel had made it nearly a full month without another sleep-walking/sleep-stealing incident and Eve was hopeful that the cycle had finally been broken. That is until the alarm on her phone jolts her awake one night at 3:51 in the morning. She's instantly alert, if slightly disoriented for a second upon waking. She frowns and grabs her phone, glancing at the screen and sighing softly.

Once she realized that Ezekiel's occasional nocturnal adventures were just something they would have to accept, she set up an alarm on her phone that was linked to the security cameras set up through the Annex. They were set to record any kind of movement past a certain point at night, usually corresponding to when Ezekiel typically began shambling around at night. She programmed her phone to alert her once the cameras picked up footage of the sleep-walking thief so she could find him and get him back to bed before he ended up somewhere he shouldn't be.

Her phone indicates a positive ID on Ezekiel in the north wing of the Annex and Eve sighs again as she climbs out of bed. It had been a long day, a longer week, and she really just wanted to sleep. The last thing she wanted to do was grapple with a stubborn sleepwalker who had more than a few kleptomaniacal tendencies.

She grabs a jacket and opens the door, stepping out into the hallway and turning in the direction of the north wing. It's not a long walk but she knows how easy it is to miss Ezekiel when he doesn't want to be found (asleep or not) so she makes sure to take her time.

Jenkins had taken the liberty of sealing off certain areas of the Annex at night to prevent Ezekiel from accidentally wandering into them but there wasn't really a way to prevent him from bumping around aimlessly at odd hours of the night. Eve didn't care so long as he didn't find any particularly dangerous or fragile artifacts to try to hoard. Which, as was his preference, Ezekiel always managed to find first.

Eve glances at her phone and takes another corner, coming to a stop at the end of the hallway. Ezekiel is standing at the end of the hall but he's not alone. Eve frowns in confusion.

"Stone? What are you doing down here?" she asks, walking toward the two of the them slowly.

Jake is standing right in front of Ezekiel, crouching slightly so he's eye-level and talking to him softly even though the younger man doesn't seem to be aware of it. He looks up when Eve approaches and shrugs slightly. "I saw him stumble past my room a little while ago. Figured I should follow him."

Eve smirks a little as she gets closer. "Turns out on top of everything else, Ezekiel Jones is a sleepwalker."

Jake nods and looks back at the aforementioned thief. "Yeah, Cassandra told me about it. Likes to steal even in his sleep, too," he says, nodding toward the object clutched in Ezekiel's left hand.

Eve looks closer, just then realizing that Ezekiel was holding anything. It looks like a ceremonial dagger, covered in jewels and gold and etched with ancient symbols. If it's the dagger Eve thinks it is, then Ezekiel probably shouldn't be holding it. It was used for rituals and ceremonies, sure, but it was also used for sacrifices, both animal and human. A dagger like that had a taste for blood and usually wasn't satisfied until it got more. In the hands of a not-quite-conscious thief...well, Eve was a little antsy to get it away from him.

Jake notices the dagger as well and moves to reach for it.

"Stone-" Eve starts, knowing that startling Ezekiel with the dagger in his hand might end badly before the night was over.

Jake nods at her warning but he doesn't appear concerned. Instead, he looks like he's done this hundreds of times before and is something of a pro at disarming sleepwalkers. "Hey pal," he says softly, keeping his movements very slow and measured. "Mind if I hold that for you for a little while?"

Ezekiel looks at him (sort of) and keeps a somewhat firm grip on the dagger. He sways slightly and blinks, his expression blank and eyes unfocused.

"I'm not gonna take it from you," Jake assures him, holding out one hand calmly. "I'm gonna help you keep it safe until we get it back to your room, okay?"

Ezekiel doesn't say anything but appears to unconsciously weigh the options. Finally, after a few more silent seconds, he relinquishes the dagger to Stone and lets his empty hand fall back against his side.

"'Atta boy," Jake says with a smile, tucking the dagger into the hem of his pants and reaching out to lay a gentle hand on Ezekiel's shoulder. "Let's get it back to your room okay? It'll be safe there. No better place to be than with a world-class thief, right?"

Ezekiel nods in agreement and allows Jake to steer him in the direction of his room. Eve watches in silent amazement, following along behind them wordlessly.

Despite the fact that Jake always looks like he's about two seconds away from throttling Ezekiel when he's awake, he's surprisingly gentle with him now. He walks slowly beside the younger man, keeping a warm, steadying hand between his shoulder blades as he guides him down the hall. Occasionally Ezekiel will stop or try to turn in a different direction but Jake stays close, speaking to him softly and urging him forward.

Jake leads Ezekiel down the hall toward his room, Eve following quietly behind them. Just before they reach the door, Ezekiel stumbles a bit and Jake is quick to catch him.

"Easy buddy," he says, catching the dazed thief before he can topple to the floor. "We're almost there."

Eve slides past them to push open the door and steps out of the way when Jake leads Ezekiel into the bedroom. He guides him over the edge of the bed and tries to push him onto the mattress but Ezekiel stays standing. Realizing the problem, Jake removes the dagger from his hip and presses it into Ezekiel's hands. Well, part of it at least. He keeps the dagger itself tucked into the waistband of his pants and allows Ezekiel to have the sheath. Eve watches the exchange and smirks at the sleight of hand.

"Alright, kid," Jake says, leading Ezekiel over to the bookshelf where his other requisitioned items had ended up. "Time to put it up to make sure it's safe."

Ezekiel nods slowly and places the sheath on the middle shelf, pushing it back so that it's wedged between the shelf and the wall. Satisfied, he takes a step back, collapses onto the mattress and falls back into a deep sleep.

Once he's certain he's asleep, Jake walks over to the bookshelf and reclaims the sheath, sliding it back onto the dagger and handing it to Eve. "We should probably move this to a different room in case he goes looking for it again."

Eve takes that dagger but continues to stare at Jake in surprise. "That was amazing. How did you know that would work?"

Jake glances toward the sleeping lump of Ezekiel on the bed and reaches out to dislodge the mass of sheets and comforter he's tangled in. He unfurls it into something similar to actual bedding and then tugs it up over the sleeping man's shoulders.

"I had a little brother who used to sleepwalk a lot when he was a kid," he tells her quietly, stepping away from the bed and nodding toward the door. "Got used to coaxing him back to bed in the middle of the night."

"So then you're the sleepwalker whisperer?" Eve says with a small smile.

Jake smirks a little and shrugs. "Nah, I just learned it was easier to let them complete whatever task they're working on before taking them back to bed. My brother used to go through his whole morning routine in the middle of the night; you know, getting dressed, brushing his teeth, combing his hair..."

Jake fades off, gesturing toward the bed at Ezekiel. "Stuff like this, it's all subconscious. As long as they're not about to hurt themselves or someone else, I've always been told it's better to just let them do their thing and finish it. Helps them feel accomplished, you know?"

Eve doesn't know, she's _never_ experienced anything like this before, but she nods anyway. "So your brother's sleepwalking," she begins quietly, glancing toward Ezekiel as she speaks. "Did he ever grow out of it?"

Jake shrugs slightly and nods. "Yeah, eventually. It took a little while but he grew out of it in the end and never had another problem with it. I think Ezekiel's subconscious is a large part of all this too."

At Eve's confused expression, he elaborates. "Ezekiel is a thief right?"

"Right…?"

"So now he's in a place where there are literally thousands of priceless artifacts and he's expected to keep his hands to himself because most of them are incredibly dangerous in untrained hands."

"Right."

"So while he realizes this when he's awake, unconsciously, he's still tempted to take them. His barriers are down when he's asleep and he's more tempted to steal things he knows he shouldn't when he's awake. Understand?"

"Not at all," Eve says, closing Ezekiel's door as they step out into the hallway.

Jake just chuckles. "I'm saying he'll more than likely grow out of this the longer we stay here. Once he makes the subconscious connection that he doesn't need to steal anything from the Annex, that it's here to stay, the sleep-stealing should stop."

Eve nods and begins walking, Jake falling into step beside her. "Okay, so what do we do until it stops?"

The librarian shrugs again. "Just deal with it, I guess. It's annoying, sure, but you have to remember that he's not aware of what he's doing; getting mad or angry won't do a bit of good in the end. The best thing to do is just keep him from hurting himself or breaking anything and wait for these episodes to work themselves out. He looks like he's in the downward slope already."

"Yeah, it has become less frequent," Eve admits as they walk. Honestly she's just tired and she's ready to go back to bed.

"You know," Jake says, pausing in the hall once they reach Eve's room. "I can switch rooms for a while if you want. There's an open room across the hall from Ezekiel; I can move in there and keep an eye on him for while until this works itself out."

"No, Stone, you don't have to do that," Eve begins, trying to come up with some kind of coherent argument in her head.

"It's fine, trust me," Jake tells her gently, effectively ending the conversation. "I don't mind and I think I have more experience with this than the rest of you do. Besides, I don't want to strangle the kid quite as much when he's asleep so it works out."

Eve doesn't seem quite convinced but she's too tired right now to offer any kind of reasonable argument. "I'm sure we can find a better solution."

Jake gives her a slight smile and nod. "You're probably right but there's no sense trying to figure it all out right now. We'll talk about in the morning. Until then, I'll keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't get into trouble again." With that, he offers a mock salute and turns, walking back down the hall toward the open room across from Ezekiel's.

Eve watches him go and smiles a little to herself before closing her door and turning out the light.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading guys! :D**


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